Review of “The Fisherman and the French Flounder” by Raven Howell, Narrated by Immy Dymott, Illustrated by Pamela C. Rice

Paperback Score: 93+/100 (9.3+ out of 10)
Audiobook Score: 95/100 (9.5 out of 10)

The Fisherman and the French Flounder by Raven Howell & Pamela C. Rice is an incredibly charming and humorous children's book. Most exciting of all, it is now in audiobook format, brilliantly narrated by the talented Immy Dymott!

The Fisherman and the French Flounder closely parallels the classic fable "The Fisherman and His Wife,"famously told by the Brothers Grimm. In that tale, a poor fisherman catches an enchanted fish (a flounder) that speaks and pleads for its life. Out of pity, the fisherman releases the fish. When he tells his wife about the encounter, she insists he return to the sea to ask the fish for a wish—starting with a modest request for a cottage.

As the wife’s wishes escalate—from a grand castle to ruling as king, emperor, and eventually pope—her insatiable greed disrupts the balance of nature. The enchanted fish, initially generous, finally grows weary and resets the couple’s life to its original state of poverty.

Thankfully, this telling of the story is far more humorous, lighthearted, and positive (as compared to the Brothers Grimm version), though the core story is retained. There is a wonderful twist, however, in that the fish and the fisherman constantly have misunderstandings due to speaking different languages (English and French). Hilarity ensues! Add to that the beautiful narration by Immy Dymott and the stylish illustrations by Pamela C. Rice, and you've got yourself a winner!

The book follows an unnamed, loving, and compassionate fisherman who happens to catch a flounder (a gulf flounder based on Rice's illustrations) who happens to primarily speak and understand French! This is because—as the French flounder explains—he was a French prince who was transformed into a fish by a magical spell.

The fisherman pities the French flounder, but also knows that he and his wife are poor and need something to eat. He also knows that his wife—whose temper and selfishness—will likely be mad that he came home empty-handed. So, the French flounder—an enchanted, magical being—makes the fisherman an offer: he will grant him three wishes for the kindness of him letting him go.

And this is where the hilarity begins.

The French flounder constantly misunderstands the words and phrases the fisherman uses due to their language difference. So, when the fisherman, urged by his wife, asks for a cottage (house), the flounder gives him a croissant (baked pastry) instead! When the fisherman, urged by his wife, asks for a check for money, the flounder gives him a beagle (dog) instead! When the fisherman, urged by his wife, asks for an armory to fit all of the croissants and dog bones, the flounder gives them l'amour (love) instead! This substantially improves the life of the couple, eventually leading to the fisherman building a “grand castle” by the sea so they can live happily ever after together.

So, it's a much happier, more positive ending than the original Grimm tale.

Kids will likely point out how silly and funny the French flounder looks. Being a gulf flounder, he is flat and has both eyes on one side! This may be a good opportunity to teach kids about how there are many unique, strange, and different animals that live in the world. Maybe you have a budding zoologist or biologist in the bunch. It might also be an opportunity to point out to kids how, despite the fact that the fish looks and sounds different or funny from them, he is a good, friendly person and also a prince!

Speaking of sounding unique and different, Immy Dymott really elevates the audiobook (as its narrator) with her beautiful, cheerful, youthful, and spirited performance. You can just tell that she's smiling from ear to ear while reading these passages! Her positivity and joy are contagious, really lifting the mood of the reader/listener.

Immy also has a posh, elegant, and beautiful British accent which may be something different for young American readers/listeners, adding an enchanting and captivating quality. It's almost like having Wendy Darling (from Peter Pan) reading you this book! There's nothing like it!

Making this even better is the fact that Immy performs the French and French-sounding lines of the French flounder, creating an incredibly interesting clash between these different accents and languages.

Very cool and impressive!

We found ourselves absolutely laughing when Immy exclaimed (speaking as the fisherman's wife): “A BEAGLE!”

By the way, the beagle that Rice illustrated is incredibly adorable, probably the cutest character in the book, though he or she is only in about two scenes. Rice is actually a previous Outstanding Creator Awards winner for being the illustrator of Finding Joy, also written by Raven Howell! Rice has a very artsy style. Characters seem to warp wrap around each other, almost becoming one. It's a style that will appeal to some and not to others, but we didn't mind it.

Overall, this is a fun and very humorous children's book (and audiobook) to check out on Amazon!